Newsletter: June/July 2008 Newsletter

At the May meeting, we welcomed one new member: Top Guard Security. This brings our total membership to 179 companies. We were pleased to welcome Mr. Jerry A. Bridges, Executive Director, Virginia Port Authority as our guest speaker, who briefed us on the “Vision of the Port”. Forbes magazine has rated Hampton Roads as the number one place to do business. Mr. Bridges discussed issues with containers and terminals. Specifically, the containers are not readily available sometimes, and coal ships are increasing in traffic. 53% of the cargo we receive is just “passing through” our area (4% by barge; 31% by rail; and 65% by truck).  Rail transport is the fastest growing type. We are the third largest port on the East Coast and the fifth largest port in the US. 343,000 jobs are related to the Port in our area. This makes up 9% of Virginia labor. In 2007, $2.1 million was generated by the port through TEU containers. One TEU is basically a twenty-foot container. The Craney Island Marine Terminal is a significant project for Hampton Roads, with estimated completion by 2017. Craney Island will be 50% funded by the federal government because this terminal will have a nationwide impact. The Maersk Terminal will boost our status nationwide as a “Gateway to the World”, and it will cost $550 million.  This impact will reach far into the heartland corridor of the country.  The Port of Virginia will be the main access point. The port is expected to expand by 300% by 2032.

 

Our guest speaker for the June meeting will be Ms. Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, Executive Director, Elizabeth River Project, who will provide a valuable update on the organization’s progress. Ms. Jackson has been with the Elizabeth River Project since its initial conception in November 1991. She was a founding volunteer, founding member of the Board of Directors and became the first paid staff member in 1993, as Coordinator. She now serves as Executive Director, overseeing the Elizabeth River Project in its mission to “restore the Elizabeth River to the highest practical level of environmental quality through government, business and community partnerships.”

 

In this role, Ms. Jackson oversees a staff of nine pursuing numerous actions in the Elizabeth River Project’s Watershed Action Plan, Elizabeth River Restoration. The plan was adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia as its Regional Action Plan for reducing toxics in the Elizabeth River. Ms. Jackson received the William H. Savedge III Environmental Achievement Award from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2002 for her personal commitment to environmental restoration of the Bay.

 

Prior to taking a position with the Elizabeth River Project, Ms. Jackson was a journalist for daily newspapers. She served as staff writer for the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., for 10 years, covering education, City Hall, religion and other issues. She was named one of the 10 best religion writers in the country in 1991 and was nominated by the Pilot for a Pulitzer for her coverage of Norfolk’s desegregation busing case. Prior to that, she was a reporter with The Augusta Chronicle in Augusta, Ga.

 

The website for the Elizabeth River Project is www.elizabethriver.org.

 

Our guest speaker for the July General Membership Meeting is Mr. Dwight Farmer, Executive Director, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

In commemoration of VSRA's 25th anniversary next year,  we are spotlighting Metro Machine Corp., one of the founding members of TMTI and STASR and their successors, VSRA and VSRF.

Q. How long have you been a member of VSRA?

A.  Metro Machine Corp. is a founding member of the Tidewater Maritime Training Institute (TMTI), South Tidewater Association of Ship Repairers (STASR), VSRA and VSRF.  We have been a member for almost twenty-five years.

 

Q. What is the size of your company?

A.  We are a small business.

 

Q. What is your business focus?

Q. Your company locations:

A.  Metro is located in Norfolk, VA. Our main facility is in the Berkley section, and our fabrication facility, Mid-Atlantic, is located next to the Mid-Town tunnel.

 

 

Metro Machine is proud to spotlight Mr. Jacob E. Cherry, who is Metro’s longest serving graduate of TMTI. Mr. Cherry has worked for Metro Machine for over twenty-five years, working his way from an entry-level position all the way up to a supervisor of Mid-Atlantic’s shop shipfitters. His experience at Metro has included various assignments, such as shipfitting, burning, welding, blueprint reading, etc. 

 

 

Q.   Hometown: 

A.   Norfolk, Virginia

 

Q.   Hobbies: 

A.   Hobbies include Fishing, traveling, and woodworking.

 

Q.  What brought you into the ship repair industry?

A.  I wanted to better myself in life.  TMTI aided in steering me in the right direction for this greatest career of my life!

 

Q. One interesting fact no one knows about you:

A. I love to help senior citizens because many are being taken advantage of.

 

The Contracts Committee is launching a new seminar to assist all contractors dealing with cost contracts. 

COST: $50.00 VSRA members; $75.00 Non VSRA members

DATE: July 23, 8:00am - noon

LOCATION: Nauticus, 2^nd floor theater, One Waterside Dr.

 

This session will help you identify target areas for improvement and gain the capacity to maximize contract results. Session topics include:

Adequate Accounting Systems

Rates: Forward Pricing, Provisional Billing, and Allowable Costs

Payment Cycles: Incurred Cost Submissions, Contract Close-Out, and Final Rate Audits

 

Hot Topics:

Limitation of Cost Clause

Limitation of Funds Clause

Firm Fixed Price Subcontracts

Consent

DCMA Role and Certified Purchasing Systems

Award Fee processes

Advanced Authorization to Proceed

 

When: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at Bayville Golf Club 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specifics on sponsorship benefits are on the tournament application. Application and registration will be available to sign up on Monday, June 16^th at www.virginiashiprepair.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many strange nautical terms out there. This new feature will discuss the meaning and origin of some of these terms. Scuttlebutt has an interesting background. It means gossip or rumors. A butt was wooden cask that held liquids. To tap the cask for the liquid inside, the sailors had to drill a hole, or scuttle into the butt. It was very common for sailors gathered at the water casks for a drink of water to exchange gossip.  Today, the water cooler and coffee pot are gathering spots for the exchange of scuttlebutt. The technology may have changed, but human behavior has not.

The committee discussed the contents of the May/June and June/July newsletters.

 

The committee discussed the INSURV report regarding USS Stout and USS Chosin. The Board of Directors will appoint a liaison to each committee. The committee discussed the pending small business rules, which would expand the definition of full-time employees. MARMC is requesting feedback on NMD. The Cost Contracting seminar will be held 7/23 at Nauticus. The annual Standards of Contracts seminar is being targeted for October.

 

Nominations are being accepted for Junior and Senior Tradesmen of the Year. The committee discussed the details of the May 14 seminar.

 

An updated subcontractor QA list was passed out. The next SSRAC meeting will be in Jacksonville, FL July 31-August 1. The QA website subcommittee has been meeting with the web developer to finalize the subcontractor audit program. The committee discussed the ISO 9000 manual/QA audit program in regard to NAVSEA Standard Item 009-04.  

 

The CVS test pilot has not taken place, so contractors should continue to submit their visit requests as usual. Some private facilities are accepting the TWIC as a form of identification, but MARMC does not recognize the TWIC.  

We are pleased to offer the following classes:

 

Location Sponsored by Earl Industries LLC

COST: $375.00 VSRA members; $465.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: June 18-19, 7:30am - 3:30pm

LOCATION: Earl Industries, 3128 Victory Blvd., Portsmouth, VA 23702

This course is designed for supervisors with more than five years of experience. Course learning centers on leadership demands, behavioral management, tracking professional goals, and developing stronger workers through career development and goal setting. The course delivers 16+ hours of lecture, video, hand-on activities, the Kouzes & Posner Leadership Challenge System and text-based assignments over a two-day period.

 

                                        

Location Sponsored by Earl Industries LLC

COST: $75.00 VSRA members; $110.00 Non VSRA members

SESSION 1 DATE: June 25, 8:00am – noon

LOCATION: UCC, 3128 Victory Blvd., Portsmouth, VA 23702

 

 

Location Sponsored by Earl Industries LLC

COST: $105.00 VSRA members; $140.00 Non VSRA members

DATE: June 25, 7:30am - 4:30pm

LOCATION: UCC, 3128 Victory Blvd., Portsmouth, VA 23702

Emergency First Responders ~ OSHA Approved/Internationally Accepted

*This certification is OSHA-approved/internationally accepted and is a step beyond the Red Cross certification and is more oriented to industrial environments.* This course provides comprehensive instruction in CPR and First Aid, as well as Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use, emergency oxygen administration and conscious choking management skills. Upon successful completion of this course, attendees receive a Certification Card.

 

 

COST: $140.00 VSRA members; $175.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: June 10 and 11, September 9 & 10, and November 18 & 19, 2008, 8:00am-4:30pm both days

LOCATION: Metropolitan Laboratories, 330 County Street, Suite 200, Portsmouth, VA 23704

This course will review coating documents such as SSPC PA-2, NSTM Chapter 631 and NSTM Chapter 634 for non-skid and others. It will also provide a thorough review of SI 009-32 and applicable sections of 009-04. Recent changes to the NAVSEA NBPI Exam have resulted in lower pass rates. In order to better prepare your workers, VSRA is offering a 1-1/2-day pre-course specifically to address exam standards and increase inspector-level knowledge. Each attendee must bring a current copy of NAVSEA Standard Items 009-32 and 009-04 (FY08).

 

 

Sponsored by VSRA and course approved by NAVSEA

Location sponsored by MARMC

COST: $550.00 VSRA members; $675.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: June 16-20, September 22-26, and December 1-5, 2008, 7:00am - 5:00pm

LOCATION: MARMC Building LF-18, Norfolk Naval Base

Attendance is limited to 20 applicants. A score of 80% or higher is required to be eligible for the certification. Students passing the exam will receive a four-year certification and a laminated wallet card from SSPC. Test results will come directly from SSPC. 

 

Due to changes with the SSPC, all documents related to this course need to be submitted to the SSPC representative, Jeannine Bodack. Her email address is: bodack@sspc.org, phone: 877-281-7772 x 2204, fax: 412-281-9995. These documents must be submitted two weeks before the first day of class. Please go to the SSPC website http://www.sspc.org/training/nbpi_prereq.html to view the current required documents.

 

 

Location sponsored by Earl Industries, LLC

COST: $325.00 VSRA Members; $399.00 Non-VSRA Members

DATE: November 4-7, 2008, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

LOCATION:  Earl Industries, 3128 Victory Blvd., Portsmouth, VA 23702

This course is directed to rising welders and shipfitters, or workers who need a familiarity with blueprint terminology, symbols and design features specific to ships. The course provides 28 hours of instruction with take-home activities, 3 quizzes and a final exam.  Attendees will receive critical drawing analysis experience, as well as hands-on blueprint activities.  For a complete course outline please contact the VSRA office.

 

 

Please register on the VSRA website www.virginiashiprepair.org for above seminars. Phone registrations are not preferred, however, can be accommodated. For questions/help registering please call our office at 757-233-7034, we want to make this transition process easy for our members.

 

**Please note, you must be logged in to receive the discounted VSRA price for seminars.**

 

Refund & Cancellation Policy: VSRA offers seminars at a greatly reduced rate to our members. Cancellations must be made within 4 business days of the course date to receive full credit contingent on slots being filled. Late cancellations will be given a 50% credit towards future training or 100% if open slot is filled. No-shows WILL BE CHARGED the course fee, and no refunds will be made. Substitutions are welcome; however, please contact the VSRA office as soon as possible.

 

The USNI conference, DoD Capabilities for the 21^st Century will be held June 17-19 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. For additional information, go to www.usni.org.

 

ASNE is holding its premiere event, ASNE Day 2008, June 23-25 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. The theme of the symposium is The Road to CG(X): Future Cruiser and Sea-Based Missile Defense. Speakers include:

 

The Honorable Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy

Ms. Allison Stiller, DASN Ships

Lt Gen Henry Obering, III, USAF, Director, Missile Defense Agency

RADM Victory Guillory, USN, OPNAV N86

RADM Brad Hicks, USN, Program Director, Aegis BMD

RDML Charles Goddard, USN, PEO Ships

RDML Ronald Rabago, USCG, Director of Acquisition Programs & PEO

RDML Joseph Horn, USN, OPNAV N86F.